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4 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 400g sliced mushrooms 1 tsp crushed garlic 2 tsp cumin seeds ½ tsp turmeric powder 1 diced onion Chillies Fresh coriander Salt 1 (400g) roll of puff pastry, thawed and kept cold Braise the onion and chillies in a little oil. Add the cumin seeds and cook for a few minutes. Add the crushed garlic, potatoes, salt and turmeric powder. Add a little water and cook until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are done. There should be no liquid left.
Garnish with fresh coriander and set aside to cool, then put in the fridge.
Roll out the pastry to fit your baking tray. Place on the greased tray and assemble the pie.
Divide the pastry into thirds lengthwise. Cut strips on the two outer edges. Fill the centre with the potato mixture and fold over one strip at a time, forming a criss-cross pattern. Moisten the tips of the strips with water to help the pastry stick.
Brush with melted butter or beaten egg and bake at 200°C until golden brown. Serve with a hot sauce and a side salad.
This pie freezes well. For best results, the pastry and the filling must be ice cold before you assemble the pie.
This pie is great for vegetarians. WHEN Nessie Naidoo’s daughter, nieces and nephew relocated to different parts of the country and the world, they often contacted her for simple and economical recipes.
She was known for the cooking and baking skills she inherited from her parents.
So after Naidoo, pictured, of Montrose, Pietermaritzburg, left employment as the publishing manager at a newspaper company in June 2014, she began testing recipes and sending them to the youngsters.
A year later she started a food blog and before long, Heather Hannaway of Shuter & Shooter Publishers contacted her with the possibility of publishing a recipe book.
On October 1 that dream was realised when Easy Cooking by Nessie Naidoo was published, becoming the first published recipe book for the publishers.
“I always envisioned publishing a recipe book and now that it has been realised, I am grateful and overjoyed,” said Naidoo, who is currently working at Shuter & Shooter Publishers as a project administrator.
She said her daughter Thashni Manjoo, who lives in Johannesburg, and three nieces living in Germany, Hungary and Stellenbosch, as well as her nephew, who is studying at the University of Cape Town, each had a copy of the book they helped bring into being.
“They know I love cooking and entertaining, like my parents, so they often called, looking for easy and economical recipes to whip up in a hurry. After I left my newspaper company job, I spent my sabbatical trying out and testing recipes before sending them out.
“A year later, I started a blog, easycooking-nessie.com, which gave a step-by-step account on how to prepare foods, accompanied by photographs.”
Naidoo said she inherited her culinary skills from her parents.
“My mother is the baker and my father the cook. In the book there are recipes by my mother, such as her famous banana cake, cream horns and eclairs, and my dad’s chicken pilau and mutton curry. I have also incorporated recipes of my own, those which I had passed on to my family.”
Naidoo said she hoped to publish another cookbook.
The book is available at selected book stores and through the Shuter & Shooter Publishers online store. 1 (400g) roll ready-made puff pastry 500ml fresh cream Jam (optional) 2 tbs sugar 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 beaten egg or milk 1 punnet fresh strawberries Icing sugar for dusting Metal horns Defrost the pastry and cut out 10-12 strips on the width. Cut each strip in two and roll out so that it is long enough to cover the horn. Swirl the pastry around the horn, overlapping as you go. Seal the end well.
Place the horns on a baking sheet and brush with the beaten egg or milk. Bake at 200°C for 15-20 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Only when they have cooled, carefully slide the pastry off the horn. Place pastry horns on a wire rack to cool completely.
Beat the cream with the sugar and essence until it is stiff.
Fill the horns with the cream and decorate with fresh fruit, sprinkles or choc chips. In fact, whatever you like!
I like to brush the inside of the horn with a little jam, or place a small piece of strawberry at the bottom for a tasty surprise! Dust the horns with icing sugar and serve. Enjoy!
As a child I was always fascinated watching my mum swirl the pastry around the horns!